Rain is “possible if not likely at Fenway Park for all three games” of the final regular season series between the Red Sox and Cubs this weekend, and “that could determine almost everything about the National League wild-card race.” While the Red Sox “seem all but certain to end up as the No. 5 seed in the American League,” the NL wild-card is “a three-team battle” between the Cubs, Padres and Phillies. All three teams are “heavy favorites to advance,” but their seeding in the playoffs “is still up in the air.” That means those last three games at Fenway Park “might be too important to skip.” If one of the final games “gets rained out but affects the final standings,” the Red Sox and Cubs “will have to make it up either as a doubleheader or as an extra Game 162 on Monday, which is supposed to be a day off before the start of the postseason.” The league “has been willing to adjust start times ahead of inclement weather,” and the Red Sox themselves “preemptively adjusted the start time of a game earlier this month because of rain in the forecast.” It is “possible they could do the same this weekend if the forecast suggests an optimal window to play” (THE ATHLETIC, 9/22).
